Bitcoin is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies and certainly one of the leading platforms in the crypto space. The reason for that is the infrastructure that is based on peer-to-peer technology, enabling users to work without any central authority or banks and manage their transactions.
The issuing of Bitcoins is carried out collectively by the network. Even though other cryptocurrencies have come before, Bitcoin is the first decentralized one with a reputation that is sky-high currently because of its evolution in the crypto space.
Bitcoin is currently sitting at a hundred-billion market cap, something that was double a couple of months ago. The popularity has made it here to stay. As with any new invention, there have been improvements or flaws in the initial model. However, the community and the team of dedicated developers have been pushing to overcome the obstacles they have come across. Bitcoin is still a leading cryptocurrency in terms of market cap.
Still, the price of Bitcoin is not entirely stable as it can grow or fall 10% to 205 in a single day.
The largest cryptocurrency is also the first term that was related to a growing category of money known as crypto currencies. Since it can be used to buy things electronically, it certainly fits the image of a cryptocurrency. However, bitcoin is decentralized – which means that there is no single institution that controls the network or the virtual money it is based on.
While conventional currencies are based on gold or silver, BTC is based on something else – the law of mathematics. In other words, the asset is part of a mathematic formula that is used in a software program and is also freely available so that anyone can check it. This is why it is labeled as open-source, meaning that anyone can look it and make sure of its existence. Unlike governments and paper money, this cryptocurrency operates as a peer-to-peer network, which means that no one decides how much of it will be produced and how it will be distributed. The miners are the ones who run the software on their machines and issue a certain amount of the cryptocurrency in return. This provides a smart way to issue the currency while creating an incentive for more people to join it.